Welcome to The Best Of Herts

This site celebrates the best of Hertford and Hertfordshire.  It’s a unique county, full of history and rural charm, yet in very easy reach of London.  People who move here rarely want to move away.  Those born here are proud of the county of their birth.

We hope the site is of use to people new to Hertfordshire and to those who already know the country well.  We welcome your feedback. and any ideas for new areas for this site to explore.

If you’d like to help Hertforshire keep it’s character and charm then the Campaign to Protect Rural England
Hertfordshire branch will welcome you : see www.cpreherts.org.uk

Hertfordshire Snapshots

Hertford Castle in the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire. The remaining part of the castle, as seen here is in fact the gatehouse. For 300 years a Royal Palace stood within the flint walls having previously been one of a series of castles built for defence purposes. An exact date is not known, but the earliest records date the castle to the Norman times around 911. James I of Scotland was a prisoner at Hertford Castle, as were the Templars. Queen Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood at both nearby Hatfield House and Hertford Castle.

Some of the famous 18th Gazebos that line the banks of the River Lea in Ware. Ware was an important town on the coaching road, the roman Ermine Street from London to Lincoln and York. The high street in the town had many coaching inns where the coaches would stop and the travellers would partake of refreshment and relax in these elegant Georgian gazebos by the riverside.

A commuter train crosses the Welwyn Viaduct that transverses the River Mimram valley in Hertfordshire. It is 1560 ft long, 475 metres, and comprises 40 arches standing 100 ft, 30metres, high. It was designed by William Cubitt, and opened by Queen Victoria in 1850. It carries the busy Welwyn to London line.